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POGEA RACING gives a first look at its tuning programme for the Alfa Romeo 4C.

Since 1997, POGEA RACING has been developing and manufacturing products to customise sports cars. Therefore it only makes sense that the technicians of the company in Friedrichshafen, Germany are busy developing a comprehensive TÜV-tested tuning programme for the 4C, the latest racer from the Alfa family. The goal: powerful performance enhancements, lift-reducing aerodynamic components and striking 19- and 20-inch alloy wheels. Sporty suspension components and noble interior modifications made of leather, aluminium and carbon fibre will complete the portfolio.

The POGEA aerodynamic kit in the lifestyle design is strikingly sporty: the 100% carbon fibre body parts for the front, side and rear not only add visual appeal to the Alfa 4C—they also simultaneously reduce the lift forces which will increase the driving stability, especially at high speeds. Their addition makes sense, given the tremendous increase in power gained by POGEA’s performance enhancements.

“As a result of our experience with an identical engine, we expect a power increase to around 415 hp and 450 Nm of torque,” predicts Eduard Pogea, founder and mastermind at POGEA RACING, adding: “To achieve this, various engine modifications are necessary: ​​new turbochargers, tubular exhaust manifold and an exhaust system with valve control will replace the serial components. In addition, we optimise the fuel supply and the cooling system. It is a well-tuned optimised engine management.” Anyone at the wheel of a 4C will enjoy the throaty sound and clearly sensing the car’s agility.

Specifically tailored to the needs of turbo-charged Alfa Romeo, POGEA RACING is making its XCUT rim in 19- and 20-inch special editions. Developed in cooperation with KW Automotive, DCC and Clubsport suspension kits will make the driving dynamics even sportier.

In addition to the existing, serial interior, POGEA is planning accessories made from aluminium, carbon fibre or leather. Anything the Alfa Romeo 4C driver wants can be requested—from personalised floor mats to complete leather interiors.

POGEA RACING GmbH is a company that focuses on fine craftsmanship of vehicle enhancements. In addition to developing chip tuning on a Dynojet all-wheel dynamometer for all current vehicle models, and the restoration and modernization of classic cars, POGEA RACING has a passion for vehicles that are individual and unique as their owners. POGEA RACING offers custom automotive interiors and enhancements to optimise performance and aerodynamics.

I'd like to see it in person. I couldn't really get much idea from that video what the car actually looks like other than the sitting on the floor rear 3/4 view, which generally is not where I view cars from. I think it looks pretty good though. It's not going to be confused with anything else out there. I just wish they would have put real gauges in it. Nothing gets outdated faster than digital dashboards.

Update: The Alfa Romeo 4C is no longer going to be fitted with the concept car’s clear-lens lights it has been announced. FIAT group design chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti has explained the decision to replace them with the more controversial exposed bulb design. "It was a very difficult decision; a product-led move more than a design-led one," he said. "The idea was to reflect that the car is radical, back to basics and pure. Everything was about lightness and efficiency, so there wasn't much room for design."

old news, but let me just say, what a pathetic excuse! The clear lens car at Goodwood looks dramatically better.

On the final car price- they had to give somewhere. Couldn't have a 2,000 lb mid-engine sports car for $30k with a carbon fiber tub. I had originally advocated for a sub-$40k car with a mostly aluminum structure as being possible, but either I was wrong, or Alfa simply decided to go up-market.

Our first proper ride in the 237bhp, 895kg two-seater sportscar. There's a bit of promise here...

Doing a road test from a passenger seat is a bit like doing a restaurant review without tasting the food. I could tell you what meat and potatoes are like, but may struggle to describe the precise flavours. But here goes anyway, because I happen to be sat in an Alfa Romeo 4C and I'm about to be whisked up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

We've been looking forward to this car very much. It has a carbon fibre chassis, a 237bhp turbocharged engine in the middle, a dual-clutch 'box sending power to the rear wheels and a dry weight of just 895kg. It'll go on sale towards the end of this year and cost somewhere around £50k, which is a fair bit to swallow for an Alfa. It also means we'll be comparing it to the likes of the Porsche Cayman and Lotus Exige. So if it's not right, it'll be punched firmly in the tummy. If it's good, it has the potential to join the list of our favourite cars of recent history.

So what can I tell you? There's not much room in here. I tuck my elbows in to avoid brushing the driver's arm. We have a couple of helmets on board (motorsport is dangerous, folks - read the signs) and there isn't room for much else. But so what? It's a small two-seater. The carbon is exposed in places and the glass is especially thin because, well, nobody likes fat glass. So you can clearly hear the 1750cc engine behind your head. It sounds gruff, like it should clear its throat, but reminds me of the mechanical chunter of a six-cylinder Porsche. In a good way. I'm told the final car will have a louder exhaust, but I'm not sure it needs it.

Gallery: production pics of the new Alfa Romeo 4C

Off we go. We're in Dynamic mode, so there's still a bit of traction control, but enough slip to allow a mildly smoky burnout off the start line. And it's good news from here. It's fast enough to leave your stomach behind, and feels good for 0-60 in five seconds or less. The lack of flab makes itself known immediately - it doesn't heave or haul. It darts and skips. With fuel and two blokes on board, I guess it weighs somewhere close to 1100kg. But it feels like less.

The gearbox is the TCT dual-clutcher, which we've previously slagged off in other cars (we're looking at you, MiTo). But here it's been tuned to suit a sports car and it slips into each gear pretty damn quickly. From what I can tell from this side of the car, there are no dramatic pauses between pulling the paddle and feeling the change (though it appears to be a touch sticky at curbside manoeuvring speeds).

There are, however, many beeps. It's the traction control, my driver tells me, letting you know it's interfering (switching to Race mode would turn it off completely, and avoid any beeps). But I suspect they also chirp when it's time to change gear. Either way, I'd like to put them on mute, or rip out the wiring and throw them through the window. This is a driver's car. So let us drive.

In almost every other way - or at least those I can detect from here - this really is a driver's car. Reminds me very much of a Lotus Elise in the way it rides and goes around corners. You might feel bumps right up your spine (it's a carbon tub, to which the suspension is directly mounted, so it's supposed to be stiff), but somehow it's not brutal. More like a firm sports massage. Then there's the steering, which is unassisted. None of your electrohydraulic nonsense here - just a good ol' natural connection. It feels like this is a car made by people who know what they're doing. And one we'll like very much when we drive it.

Of course, we'll to wait until it's literally in our hands before casting a final judgement. But based on today's experience, hopes are rather high.

On the final car price- they had to give somewhere. Couldn't have a 2,000 lb mid-engine sports car for $30k with a carbon fiber tub. I had originally advocated for a sub-$40k car with a mostly aluminum structure as being possible, but either I was wrong, or Alfa simply decided to go up-market.

Was it ever going to be $30k? Even $40k is unreasonable, it's just too much labor and low volume to work.

that came from early speculation from the car show pundits I think. Not sure if Alfa ever claimed $30k, maybe they suggested 30k euros, but they did say it would be affordable and not a supercar. Not sure if $70k+ is what they were thinking all along or if this represents a shift in their thinking. Certainly I think we all hoped they could do it for less.

that came from early speculation from the car show pundits I think. Not sure if Alfa ever claimed $30k, maybe they suggested 30k euros, but they did say it would be affordable and not a supercar. Not sure if $70k+ is what they were thinking all along or if this represents a shift in their thinking. Certainly I think we all hoped they could do it for less.

Well, I guess I should have researched it a little better. Right on this forum are posts from 2011 that Alfa (or the press interviewing Alfa) has been saying 55-60k starting price since before they even showed the prototype at Geneva. So I guess that's where they've been aiming all along. If its anything like a Porsche, it'll say $55k "base" on the sticker, but you won't be walking out of a dealership with one for less than 75k.

As far as whether a mid-engine car that weighs less than 2000 pounds can be built for less than 40k, well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

yeah, I didn't want to bring up the 818 because then someone would whine that its not the same buyer, but I agree with your observation, and honestly I'm cross-shopping this car, the 818, and the eventual STI BRZ if and when it appears. If the 818 had a roof I'd be done. Certainly there are vintage mid-engine cars that are close to 2000 pounds, but they carry significant compromises (914 and some Lotuses come to mind).

The Alfa Romeo 4C certainly ticks a few of the key boxes. As I write this, TG.com's test car is parping and popping lustily up and down a sinuous road in the glorious Aosta valley. This is where much of The Italian Job was shot, and the 4C is a very Italian job indeed.

So, it looks fantastic, a mid-engined two-thirds scale version of Alfa Romeo's 8C Competizione, a car in which even the world's geekiest specimen of mankind could - to paraphrase Daft Punk - get lucky. Ours is blood red, and its body panels fall blithely across the 4C's chassis - carbon fibre, remember - like a piece of haute couture on a lissom supermodel. See, it's technically impossible to write about a new Italian sports car without talking about sex. Or at least romance.

It also follows, therefore, that there are aspects of this car that are teeth-grindingly frustrating. We'll get back to you later with fuller impressions but so far this is what we're thinking: great chassis and steering, supple ride, great performance. It's properly quick. But its flappy paddle gearbox is a pain in the bum, the blown 1.75-litre engine is too laggy until the boost kicks in with a chirruping whooompfhh, and you have to stand on the thing to really get it moving.

So far, so Alfa Romeo. There is obvious pain to go with the equally abundant pleasure.

The Alfa Romeo 4C, the mid-engine, rear-drive sports car that we’ve been eagerly awaiting since is Geneva motor show reveal over two years ago. It’s Alfa’s gamble of reinvention with a low-volume, high visibility sports car to create a halo around the brand, and provide a springboard from which to launch a new range of fresh mainstream models. It starts at £45,000, sticking it halfway between a Porsche Cayman and a Lotus Exige S.

Technical highlights?

The engine - Alfa’s familiar turbocharged, direct-injection 1742cc four-cylinder petrol motor - is some 22kg lighter than that found in the Giulietta, thanks to a new cast aluminium block in place of the regular cast iron item. Tuned to deliver a peak of 237bhp at 6000rpm and a fat 258lb ft of torque between 2200 and 4250rpm, it trades top-end effervescence for low and mid-range accessibility.

With the aid of Launch Control the Alfa 4C will punch from 0-60 in less than 4.5sec and hit a 160mph top speed. That’s serious performance from a sub-2-litre, sub-£50k sports car.

The Alfa 4C’s headline technology, though, is its carbonfibre tub, which not only adds lightness (it weighs a mere 52kg, contributing to a dry 895kg kerb weight) but also a sense of premium, hammered home when the door opens to reveal a bare gloss carbon-weave finish on the sills. Full Alfa 4C tech story here.

What’s it like to drive?

The structure - famously made from carbonfibre - feels supremely rigid, which in turn allows the suspension the freedom to work unimpeded by unwanted flex. Consequently the damping has a wonderful feeling of control, pliancy and depth, rounding things off beautifully, but maintaining a feeling of tautness that’s essential in a car with such lofty sporting aspirations.

If you’re a fan of Alfa’s free-spinning, rev-hungry naturally-aspirated engines of yore this blown motor – and its 6500rpm redline - will be a disappointment. It’s undeniably characterful and effective, albeit in a rather hot hatchy manner that’s at odds with the 4C’s baby exotic brief and obvious class.

The 4C is swift and sure-footed, its lusty little engine punching us down the straights and snargling with every upshift. The healthy reserves of mid-range torque, coupled to the TCT transmission make for near-seamless surges of acceleration that soon see you travelling at three-figure speeds between the corners. The Brembo brakes - 305mm front and 292mm rear - are extremely powerful, with a lovely firm pedal and impressive, progressive response from the moment your foot covers the pedal.

A lack of on-centre feel from its unassisted steering is the 4C’s main area of weakness. Once committed to a corner you find the balance is resolutely neutral, with an eventual fade into the mildest settling understeer. The 4C is more racecar-like than a Cayman in its focus on grip, stability and neutrality. Frustratingly that doesn’t quite translate into on-road dynamics that are as engaging or entertaining as they could be given a little more connection and freedom of expression.

When judged as a whole there’s no doubt the 4C is a quality item, though. Beautiful, and beautifully put together, it feels worth every penny of its £45,000 asking price. I suspect Alfa Romeo will sell all 3500 4Cs it hope to build annually based solely on its styling.

How does it compare?

It will be a tough fight for the Alfa 4C against some very talented foes. It sits between the £39,694, 271bhp Porsche Cayman and £48,783, 321bhp Porsche Cayman S (the latter one of the very best cars we’ve driven in 2013) while our joint Car of the Year 2012, the 345bhp Lotus Exige S V6, costs £53,850 and is more focused still than the 4C.

Anything else I need to know?

An optional Race Pack, which consists of larger wheels (18in front, 19in rear), stickier Pirelli P Zero tyres, a sports exhaust, thicker front anti-roll bar and another at the rear (as standard it comes without a rear anti-roll bar) and re-rated springs and dampers. This seems good value at £3000 and will surely prove popular, we weren’t given a standard car as context by which to judge the upgrades.